Rotary refiner



E. P. ARPIN, JR

om; w, i948.

ROTARY REFINER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 16, 1944 llallll D M N Edmund Pflryvn'n, Jr.'

E. P. ARPIN, JR

ROTARY REFINER Get.. 9, 1948.

3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Dec. 16, 1944 AU/.5N D Edmund Pflrpvz'rz J7? Patented Oct. 19, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROTARY naman Edmund P. Arpin, Jr., Neenah, Wis.

Application December 1s, 1944, serial No. 568.513

'z claims. 1

This invention relates to a rotary reflner for the reining of wet, fibrous material, such as pulp,

paper stock and the like.

In my prior Patents Nos. 1,689,190, dated October 30, 1928, and 1,714,752, dated May 28, 1929, I described and claimed rotary refiners of the vertical type, wherein a plurality of kidneyshaped refining elements are rotated within an abrasive-lined cylindrical casing for coaction with the abrasive lining in the refining of fibrous material. In the patented apparatus, the rotary refining elements were caused to bear against the abrasive lining under the action of centrifugal force, and the fibrous material caused to force its way between said surfaces of the rotary elements and shell lining under the action of the pumping vanes attached to the rotor. Such an arrangement had the drawback that if the renner were run empty or if the fibrous material was unable to force its way between the refining surfaces of the rotary elements and lining, a considerable wear of the rening surfaces would take place and these surfaces might become glazed or otherwise injured. These difficulties, of course, would be increased were the rotary elements to be revolved about a horizontal shaft, instead of a vertical one, since with a horizontal shaft the lower rotary elements would always be bearing more heavily against the abrasive lining due to gravity action In accordance with my present invention, a rotary rener possessing some of the general characteristics of my patented devices is so constructed that whether the axis of the rotor is vertical or horizontal, a minimum operating clearance is always provided between the surfaces of the rotary elements and the surface of the abrasive-lining of the shell, or stator. This result is accomplished by the provision of radially adjustable cleats carried by discs freely mounted on the rotor shaft and engageable with shoes attached to the free ends of the rotary elements. By adjusting the cleats on the supporting discs, the eiiective radial length of the cleat and shoe is thereby controlled, and, accordingly, the desired minimum operating clearance is likewise determined. In addition, a ne adjustment mechanism is provided for controlling the minimum operating clearance within very narrow limits. The minimum operating clearances for the several sets of rotary refining elements may be controlled individually and also in groups in accordance with the requirements of the particular ibrous material that is being rened.

It is therefore an important object of this invention to provide a rotary reflner of improved construction wherein the minimum operating clearance between the refining elements of the rotor and the abrasive lining of th'e stator may be adjusted and controlled within the `desired narrow limits, thereby insuring the proper refining of the fibrous material in accordance with its requirements and valso eliminating the unnecessary wear of and injury to the coacting reiinlng surfaces of the rotary elements and stator.

It ls a further important object of this invention to provide a rotary reflner in which the axis of the rotor may be either horizontal or vertical, and in which a fine adjustment of the clearances between the rotary refining elements and the refining surface of the stator' may be carefully and exactly controlled.

Other and further important objects of this invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the specification and the accompanying drawings.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a rotary renner embodying the principles of my invention, illustrating in dotted lines the movement of th'e reflner into vertical position.

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of my rotary rener.

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional view, with parts in elevation, taken substantially along the line III-III of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a reduced sectional view taken substantially along the line IV-IV of Figure 3.

. Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail view of the fine adjusting mechanism.

Figure 6 is an enlarged, broken fragmentary view of the fine adjusting mechanism illustrated in Figure 5.

Figure 'I is a sectional view taken substantially along the line VII-VII of Figure 3.

Figure 8 is a greatly enlarged, fragmentary, sectional view similar to Figure 7.

Figure 9 is an enlarged sectional View taken substantially along the line IX-IX of Figure 8 with parts in elevation.

As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the reference numeral I0 indicates generally a rotary rener embodying the principles of my invention. ,Said rotary refiner I0 includes a generally cylindrical shell, or casing, II, which is supported normally in horizontal position upon two sets of trunnion supports I2 and I3. Said supports I2 and I3 are provided at their upper ends with split journal bearings I4 and I5, in which the trunnions I6 and I1, respectively. are .'Iournalled.V The shell II is provided at each of its ends with an end plate, the end plate at the intake end being indicated by the reference numeral I8 and that at the outlet end by the reference numeral I9. The end plate I8, which is secured to the shell II by means of bolts and nuts 20, is formed with an outwardly dished portion 2I, to which is secured a shaft bearing support 22. The other end plate I9 is similarly provided with an outwardly dished portion 23 secured to said shell II by means of bolts and nuts 24, and carries a second shaft bearing supporting member 25. A shaft 26 extends through said shell II for journalling at its ends in said bearing supports 22 and 25, and at its extended end on the outlet side of said refiner, the shaft 26 carries a grooved pulley 21, through which the shaft is driven.

An intake pipe 28 is connected to the end plate I8, and a discharge pipe 29 is connected to the end plate I9. In its normal horizontal position, the rotary refiner Ill rests upon a pair of bed rails 3l) through the trunnion supports I2 and I3. When the rener is to be operated in vertical position, the upper halves of the journal bearings I4 and I5 are removed, as may also be the intake and outlet pipes 28 and 29 and pulley 21, if necessary. The end of the refiner -to be elevated is then engaged by straps 3| fitting over hooks 32 and the end of the rener lifted up by an elevating mechanism 33. The refiner is illustrated in dotted lines (Fig. 1) in its vertical or upright position. While the reiiner may be operated in this position, for most purposes I find it preferable to operate the renner with its axis horizontally disposed.

The shell is provided with an abrasive lining 34, which may be metal, stone, or a synthetic lining of the ceramic type. Although the lining 34- is shown as though it were monolithic, it may, of course, be formed in sections, or rings, and joined together in abutting relationship.

A pair of end plates 35 and 36 (Fig. 3) are mounted upon the shaft 26 inside of the head ends I9 and I8, respectively, for rotation with said shaft. The end plate 36, as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4, also serves as a pump for the introduction of the fibrous material into the interior of the shell II. For this purpose, the end plate 36 is provided with a plurality of spiral vanes 31, radiating outwardly from the hub 38 to the periphery 39 of said plate. Adjacent the outer ends of the vanes 31, the end plate 36 is provided with ports 40 for the passage therethrough of the fibrous material. Thus, stock or other wet brous material entering the intake pipe 28 is thrown outwardly by the rotating vanes 31 and forced through the ports 40 into the interior of the refiner.

Between the end plates 35 and 36 extend a, plurality of rods 42, the reduced ends 43 of which (Fig. 3) are secured in said end plates. As illustrated in Figure 7, four such rods 42 are shown, but fewer or more rods may be employed depending upon the diameter of the shell or casing. Said rods 42 are symmetrically spaced about the shaft 26 and extend parallel thereto. On each of said rods 42 there are mounted a plurality of rotary refining elements 44, which may be formed of stone, metal, or some synthetic abrasive material of a ceramic type.

Each of the rotary elements 44 is arcuately shaped and is eccentrically mounted adjacent one of its ends upon a rod .42, with the free end subject to centrifugal action as the shaft 26 is revolved. In other words, the rotary elements 44 are pivotally mounted eccntrically of their centers of mass, so that in operation the free ends of said elements tend to move outwardly into coactionwith the inner surface of the lining 34'. The outer surfacesof each of the rotary elements 44 is of generally cylindrical contour for conforming with the cylindrical inner surface of the lining 34, but the leading ends of said elements curve away from the lining surface to provide entrance passageways as indicated at 45 (Figs. '1 and 8) for the introduction of the fibrous material between the segmental cylindrical surfaces 46 of said elements and the cylindrical inner surface 41 of said lining 34. The rotary elements 44 are preferably mounted on the rods 42 in lateral abutting relationship, although spacers may be positioned between adjacent elements.

A plurality of discs 48 (Figs. 3 and 7 to 9), inclusive, are freely mounted upon the shaft 26 at spaced intervals therealong. Each of said discs 48 is providedwith a plurality of radially extending portions 50, each terminating adjacent to but inside of the free end of each of the rotary elements 44. A cleat, indicated generally by the reference numeral 5I, is mounted upon each of the extended disc portions 50 to be adjustable therealong in a generally radial direction. Each cleat 5I is provided with a plurality of elongated openings 52 (Fig. 8) through which pass bolts 53 for securing the cleat to the disc extension 50. Each cleat 5I is further provided inwardly toward the shaft 26 with ya flange 54, through which is threaded a bolt 55 which also lpasses through a strap 56 secured by bolts 51 to a disc 48. The opening through the flange 54 is threaded, while the opening through the strap 56 is unthreaded, so that by turning the bolt 55, when the bolts 53 are loose, the cleat 5I may be moved inwardly or outwardly along the disc extension 50. A lock nut 58 serves to lock the bolt 55 in its adjusted position, while the cleat 5I is held against movement by threading home the bolts 53 after the adjustment of the cleat 5I has been made.

As will .be explained in more detail later, the center line of each cleat 5I does not lie exactly upon a radius extending from the axis of the shaft 26, but is at a slight angle thereto, as best illustrated in Figure 8. Each cleat 5I is provided at its outer -end with an upstanding flange 69 that provides a plane shoulder 6I. Since the shoulder 6I extends in a plane at right angles to the center line of each cleat 5I, the plane of said shoulder is necessarily also at an angle other than perpendicular to a plane passing through the axis of the shaft 26. l

A shoe 62 is attached to each of the end faces of a rotary element 44, as by means of bolts 63. Each shoe includes an inwardly extending hooked end portion 64 terminating in a plane end face 65 (Fig. 9) that is adapted to overlie the plane face 6I of a cleat 5I. The flange 60 of a cleat 5I thus extends into a notch l|56 provided by said hooked end 64 of the corresponding shoe 62, the notch 66 being suiliciently larger in size than the ange 60 to provide limited radial movement of said flange 60 in said notch.

In addition to the adjustable cleats 5I and cooperating shoes 6-2 for individually adjusting the clearance C for each of the rotary elements 44, my invention includes a mechanism for even finer adjustment of the clearances and one that is capable of adjusting a group of the rotary elements 44, instead of only one of said elements at a time. This liner adjustment mechanism includes a rod 42a (Figs. 3, 5, 6 and '1), or a plua,4s1,vos i rality of such rods. Said rod 42a extends through the end plate 35 to provide a projecting squared end 10. Inside of the end plate 35, a collar Il is xed upon the shaft 42a by means of a set screw 12. The projecting squared end of the shaft 42a is provided with a nut 'I3 which may be turned by a suitable tool to rotate the shaft 42a. A cotter pin 14 passes through said nut 13 and the extended end of the shaft 42a acts to prevent the nut 13 from coming off. A toothed disc 'l5 is secured upon the extended end of the shaft 42a between said nut 13 and the end plate 35, for cooperation with a graduated quadrant 'I6 to indicate the amount of rotation given the shaft 42a' during any adjustment thereof. ment with the toothed disc 15 are positioned on opposite sides of the disc and held in place by bolts 92 to prevent the disc from turning after an adj ustment has been made.

A plurality of pinions Tl are secured at spaced intervals along the rod 42a for cooperation with toothed segments 'i8 formed on the discs 48. One such pinion 'H may be provided for cooperation with each disc 48, whereby all of the rotary elements 44 may be simultaneously adjusted to the same extent, or, alternatively, instead of all of the plnions 11 being mounted upon a single rod 42a, each of the rods 42 may carry a set of pinions 11 for controlling the clearances for separate groups of the rotary elements 44.

In making a ne adjustment, .by means of the mechanism just described, the rod 42a is rotated in the proper direction to effect an increase or decrease in the clearances between the rotary elements 44 and the lining 34. Through the coaction of a pinion 'I'l and a toothed segment 18 on a disc 48, the disc 48 is caused to revolve in one direction or the other. When the disc 48 is revolved in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure '7, the engagement between the plane sur-- face 6I of a shoe 62 and the plane shoulder S5 of the corresponding cleat 5| is shifted in the opposite direction to that of the rotation of the disc 48, with the result that each shoe 62 is free to move further outwardly and the clearance C is thereby decreased. When the rotation is in a counter clockwise direction, eachrplane surface 65 of a cleat 5I rides up on a plane shoulder 6I to decrease the effective radial length and thul increase the amount of clearance C. This action results from the out-of-radial alignment of the cleats 5I. By making the non-a1ignment of the center line of a cleat with a radius a matter of only a few degrees, a very fine adjustment of a thousandth of an inch or so in the effective radial length of the cleats and shoes may be easily made. Thus, a very fine adjustment of the clearances C is made possible.

For purposes of illustration, the amount of the clearances C between the several sets of rotary elements 44 and the lining 34 has been greatly exaggerated. Ordinarily the clearance would be in the neighborhood of from 0.02 to 0.002 inch under operating conditions. Also, as best illustrated in Figure 3, the minimum operating clearance may vary along-the length of the shell from Dogs 30 having teeth 9| for engagethe intake to the outlet end, being larger at the sure to force the stock through the several openings 40 into the spaces, or clearances, C between the surfaces 46 of the rotary elements 44 and the inner surface 41 of the lining 34. A sufficient centrifugal pressure is maintained upon the stock to crowd it into these clearances C, where the relative movement between the rotary elements 44 and the lining 34 acts upon the stock to refine, or brush out, the bres. The amount of stock undergoing refining in my apparatus at any one time is not sufficient to ll the interior of the casing. In fact, the machine is operated with the bowl, or casing, mainly filled with air, instead of stock, and this is a very important factor both as respects the power consumption and also the operating performance of the apparatus.

At the start of the operation, the amount of clearance at various points along the length of the refiner is adjusted in accordance with the requirements of the stock to be refined. For the fine adjustment of the clearances, the plate on the head I9 (Fig. 3) is removed in order to give access through the opening 8l to the squared end 'l0 of the shaft 42a. Adjustment is made through rotation of the shaft 42a in one direction or the other, as already described.

At the delivery end, the refined stock flows out through the discharge pipe 29, from which the stock would ordinarily be delivered to a stock chest, or the like.

One of the practical advantages for the rotary ref-lner of my present invention is that its construction prevents damage to the refining surfaces of both the rotor and stator and in the event of failure of stock supply, or of material to be refined. Furthermore, by maintaining a slight fixed clearance, the action of feeding between rotary elements 44 and the lining 34 is greatly facilitated. In addition to these advantages, When the device is employed with the rotor revolving about a horizontal axis, the pivotally mounted refining elements of the rotor are prevented from dropping against the lining when the machine is stopped. This prevents possible damage to the rotary members o-r lining when the machine is again started up. Aside from this, the operating load is considerably decreased for higher speed operation than where the rotor is mounted with its axis vertical.

Another advantage of my present construction is that it permits easy assembly or dismantling of the machine when in its operating position. It also provides a factor of safety against possible damage to essential parts of the machine in dismantling it or in assembling the parts.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range without departing from the Principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

i 1. In a rotary renner including a rotor, a shaft, a pair of heads fixed thereon, rods extending between said heads, and refining elements pivotally mounted from said rods for radially outward swinging movement, means for limiting such outward movement comprising a disc freely mounted on said shaft, cleats carried by said disc, and a shoe xed to the free end of each of said elements f for engagement with one of said cleats.

2. In a rotary refiner including a rotor, a shaft, a pair of heads fixed thereon, rods extending between said heads, and refining elements pivotally mounted from said rods for radially outward swinging movement, means for limiting such outward movement comprising a disc'freely mounted on said shaft, `radially adjustable cleats carried by said disc, and a shoe fixed to the free end of each oi. said elements for engagement with one of said cleats.

3. In a rotary rener including a rotor, a shaft, a pair of heads fixed thereon, rods extending between said heads, and refining elements pivotally mounted from said rods for radially outward swinging movement, means for limiting such outward movement comprising a disc freely mounted on said shaft, a cleat secured to said disc for adjustment substantially radially thereof and a shoe fixed to the free end of each of said elements and provided with an offset portion for engagement with said cleat to limit the radially outward movement of said free end of each element.

4. In a rotary refiner including a rotor, a shaft, a pair of heads fixed thereon, rods extending between said heads, and refining elements pivotally mounted from said rods for radially outward swinging movement, means for limiting such outward movement comprising a disc freely mounted on said shaft, a cleat secured to said disc for adjustment substantiallyY radially thereof, and a shoe fixed to the free end of each of said elements and provided with an offset portion for engage. ment with said cleat to limit the radially outward movement of said free end of each element, said cleat and shoe having interengaging surfaces lying in a plane at an angle other than 90 to a radial plane passing through the axis of said shaft.

5. In a rotary refiner including a rotor, a shaft, a pair of heads fixed thereon, rods extending between said heads, and refining elements pivotally mounted from said rods for radially outward swinging movement, means for limiting such outward movement comprising a disc freely mounted on said shaft, a cleat secured to said disc for adjustment substantially radially thereof, a shoe fixed to the free end of each of said elements and provided with an offset portion for engagement with said cleat to limit the radially outward movement of said free end of each element, said cleat and shoe having interengaging surfaces lying in a plane at an angle other than 90 to a radial plane passing through the axis of said shaft, and means for rotating said disc to change the effective radial length of said cleat and shoe.

6. In a rotary reilner including a rotor, a shaft, a pair of heads fixed thereon, rods extending between said heads, and refining elements pivotally mounted from said rods for radially outward swinging movement, means for limiting such outward movement comprising a. disc freely mounted on. said shaft, a cleat secured to said disc for adjustment substantially radially thereof, a shoe fixed to the free end of each of said elements and provided with an offset portion for engagement with said cleat to limit the radially outward movement of said free end of each element, said cleat and shoe having interengaging surfaces lying in a `plane at an angle other than to a radial plane passing through the axis of said shaft, and means for rotating said disc to change the effective radial length of said cleat and shoe.'

said last mentioned means including teeth on said disc and a pinion in engagement with said teeth.

7. In a rotary renner including a rotor, a shaft, a pair of heads fixed thereon, rods extending between said heads, and refining elements each pivotally mounted eccentrically of its center `of mass from one of said rods for outward swinging movement, means for limiting such outward movement comprising a member carried by said shaft and movable with respect thereto, a radially extending member connected at its outer end to one of said refining elements with its inner end actuatable by said first member, and means for actuating said rst member to determine the radial extent of said second member and thus x the limit of outward movement of said element.

EDMUND P. ARPIN, JR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 844,085 Barthelmess Feb. 12, 1907 1,072,059 Sturtevant Sept. 2, 1913 1,651,372 Carline Dec. 6, 1927 1,689,190 Arpine Oct. 30, 1928 1,714,752 Arpine May 28, 1929 1,854,652 Kirchner et al Apr. 19, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 221,725 Germany May 9, 1910 

